Six key trends in current mobile bands

Radio spectrum policy is often discussed in the context of “winning” the race to 5G, or at least ensuring that consumers will not end up losing out on some of its promised benefits.

But 4G and 2G services, and to a lesser extent 3G services, continue to deliver substantial benefits for consumers around the world. The bands these services rely on continue to evolve, and in some cases could be transformed by their potential use for 5G.

Over the last month we have updated all of our profiles for current mobile bands, and have identified six key trends:

1. New standards are available for the 400 MHz band, which can be considered a sub-part of the 450 MHz band;
2. A wider number of countries are consulting about potentially awarding the L-Band;
3. Mid-band 5G strategies become clearer as the world’s two biggest economies back 2.6 GHz;
4. The 3.3 – 3.8 GHz band is becoming more expensive;
5. Three advanced markets have now assigned the 28 GHz band amid uncertainty for 26 GHz;
6. WRC-19 will have a significant impact on the usability of the 26 GHz band.

The new profiles are listed below, and are all available on the website here.